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THE ITALIAN TWINS 

By Lucy Fitch Perkins 

ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR 



BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
($be Hhtierpibe £ambtibge 
1920 



COPYRIGHT, 192O, BY LUCY FITCH PERKINS 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED < 



►> •' 








©CLA597437 


n * w 



CONTENTS 


I. Morning in the Grifoni Palace i 

II. In the Piazza 21 

III. In the Mountains 45 

IV. They learn to Dance 55 

V. On the Road 71 

VI. Venice 85 

VII. Three Weeks drift by 99 

VIII. Beppo has a Plan 109 


IX. The Escape 12 1 

X. Home Again 133 






I 

MORNING IN THE GRIFONI 

PALACE 



I 

MORNING IN THE GRIFONI 
PALACE 

Near the banks of the river Arno, in an 
upper room of the beautiful old palace of 
the Grifoni family, Beppina, the twelve- 
year-old daughter of the Marchese, lay 
peacefully sleeping. In his own room across 
the hall from hers, Beppo, her twin brother, 
slept also, though it was already early dawn 
of Easter Saturday in the city of Florence, 
and both children had meant to be up be- 
fore the sun, that no hour of the precious 
holiday should be lost in sleep. 

It was the jingle of donkey bells and the 
sound of laughing voices in the street below 
her windows that at last roused Beppina. 
Though it was not yet light, the peasants 
were already pouring into the city from out- 
lying villages and farms, bringing their 
3 


families in donkey-carts or wagons drawn 
by sleek oxen, to enjoy the wonderful events 
which were to take place in the city on that 
holy day. 

Beppina opened her great dark eyes and 
sat up in bed to listen. “ I ’m awake before 
Beppo,” she whispered joyfully to herself. 
“ I told him I should be first. I wonder 
what time it is ! ” 

As if in answer to her question a distant 
clock struck five. “Five o’clock!” mur- 
mured Beppina, and, struggling to her 
knees in her great carved bed, she dipped a 
dainty finger in the vase of holy water 
which hung on the wall near by, and crossed 
herself devoutly. Then, folding her hands, 
she murmured an Ave Maria before the 
image of the Virgin which stood on the 
little table beside her bed. This duty done, 
she slid to the floor, thrust her little white 
feet into a pair of blue felt slippers, and her 
arms into the sleeves of a gay wrapper, then 
ran across the room to the eastern windows. 

As she pushed open the shutters, a gleam 
4 


of sunshine flashed across the room, light- 
ing the dim frescoes on the high ceiling, 
and paling the light of the little lamp which 
burned before the image of the Madonna. 
A wandering breeze, fresh from the distant 
hills, blew in, making the flame dance and 
flicker and flaunting a corner of the white 
counterpane gayly in the air. 

Beppina leaned her arms on the wide 
stone window-sill, and looked out over Flor- 
ence. The sun had just risen above the blue 
crest of the Apennines, its level rays tipping 
the Campanile and the great dome of the 
Cathedral with light, and turning eastern 
window-panes into flaming beacons. The 
glowing color of the sky was reflected in 
the waters of the Arno, which flowed be- 
neath its many bridges like a stream of mol- 
ten gold. Pigeons wheeled and circled above 
the roofs, and the air was filled with gentle 
croonings and the whir of wings. 

For a moment Beppina stood drinking 
in the freshness of the lovely spring morn- 
ing, then, stepping softly to the door of her 
5 



room, she opened it cautiously and peered 
into the dark corridor. She listened ; there 
was not a sound in the house except the 
gurgle of a distant snore. 

“Ah, that Teresina!” murmured Bep- 
pina to herself. “ She sleeps like a kettle 
boiling! First the lid rattles, then there is 
a whistle like the steam. Why does she not 
put corks in her nose at night and shut the 
noise up inside of her?” 

6 


She slipped silently into the hall and lis- 
tened at the door of Beppo’s room. She 
heard no sound, and was just on the point 
of turning the knob, when the door flew 
open of itself and a boy with great dark eyes 
like her own burst into the corridor and 
bumped directly into her. Beppina backed 
hastily against the wall, and though the 
breath was nearly knocked out of her, re- 
membered to offer him her Easter greetings. 

“ Buona Pasqua, Beppo mio,” she gasped. 
“ I was just going to wake you.” 

“To wake me!” Beppo shouted deri- 
sively. “That’s a good joke. I ’m up first, 
just as I said I should be ! See, I am all 
dressed, and you — you have not even be- 
gun !” 

Beppina laid her finger on her lips. 
“Hush, Beppo!” she whispered. “Don’t 
roar so. It ’s only five o’clock, and every 
one else in the house is asleep. Not even 
the maids have stirred, and as for Teresina 
— listen to her ! She sleeps like the dead, 
though less quietly, yet she rouses at once 
7 


if the baby stirs, and if we should wake the 
baby at this hour, she would be angry at 
us all day long.’' 

They listened for a moment to the ap- 
palling sounds which rolled forth from the 
room where Teresina, the nurse, slept. 
Then Beppo said: “If the baby can sleep 
through that noise, she can sleep through 
anything. It sounds like a thunder-storm 
in the mountains.” 

At that moment a wicked idea popped 
into his head. “ I know what I ’m going to 
do,” he whispered, grinning with delight. 
“I ’m going to creep into her room like a 
cat and drop something into her mouth. 
She sleeps with it open, and I have a piece 
of soap just the right size ! ” 

“ Beppo ! ” gasped Beppina. “ Don’t you 
dare! Teresina would then refuse to take 
us to the piazza, and you know very well 
there is no one else to go with us, for the 
governess had a headache last night and 
went to bed looking as yellow as saffron.” 

“Oh, but just think how funny Teresina 
8 


would look, choking and sputtering like a 
volcano pouring forth fire, smoke, and lava,” 
chuckled Beppo, who was studying geog- 
raphy and liked it much better than Bep- 
pina did. 

“ If you do it you ’ll just have to spend 
Easter Saturday in the house and miss all 
the fun,” warned Beppina. “ Mammina 
would not let us go with any of the other 
servants.” 

“ I don’t see why she won’t let us go 
alone,” said Beppo crossly. “ I hate to go 
out on the street with Teresina all dressed 
up in her ruff and streamers so people will 
know she ’s a baby nurse. I ’m big enough 
to go by myself! ” 

Beppina looked despairingly at her bro- 
ther. “ Oh, dear ! ” she said, “ I wish Mam- 
mina had taken us with her to the villa in- 
stead of leaving us to go later with Teresina 
and the governess, when she has every- 
thing ready for us. I would n’t mind miss- 
ing Easter Saturday here if only we could 
be up at the villa.” 


9 


“ Or if only our dear Babbo had not had 
to go away to Rome,” added Beppo gloom- 
ily. “ He would have taken us with him to 
see all the Easter sights, and no thanks to 
Teresina either ! ” 

“ But they did go, both of them,” sighed 
Beppina. “ So it ’s Teresina or stay at home 
for us, and I ’m sure I don’t want to stay 
at home! ” 

Beppo thrust his hands into his pockets, 
hunched up his shoulders, and looked so 
gloomy and obstinate that Beppina saw 
something must be done at once. “Oh, 
pazienza, Beppo mio ! ” she said, giving him 
a little shake. “It might be worse surely. 
Come, let ’s go down to the garden and 
feed the pigeons. You get the crumbs while 
I dress.” 

“Hurry, then,” said Beppo, brightening 
a little, as Beppina flung him a butterfly 
kiss and ran back to her room. She threw 
on her clothes in two minutes, fastened her 
long black hair with a hair-pin, and ap- 
peared again in the corridor just as Beppo 


io 



returned from the kitchen with a pan of 
crumbs in his hand. 

The two children then quietly opened 
the door which led from the Grifoni apart- 
ment into the public hall of the old palace 
and crept silently down the long, dark stone 
stairs to the ground floor, where Pietro, the 
porter, lived with his wife and six children. 
Pietro opened the door of his own apart- 
ment and stepped into the public hall just 
as the two dark figures came stealthily 
1 1 


down the last flight. Beppo was certainly 
in a mood for mischief that morning, for 
when he saw Pietro he crept softly up be- 
hind him as he was buttoning the last but- 
ton of his livery, and suddenly shouted 
“Boom!” right in his ear! 

Pietro thought it was one of his own chil- 
dren who had played this saucy trick. 
“ Santa Maria ! ” he cried, wheeling about 
with his hands out to catch and punish the 
offender. “ Come here, thou thorn in the 
eye ! ” Then, as he saw the children of 
the Marchese grinning at him out of the 
shadows, his hand went up in a salute in- 
stead. “ Buona Pasqua, Donna Beppina! ” 
he cried, “ and you too, Don Beppo ! Why 
are you about at this hour in the morn- 
ing scaring honest people out of their 
wits ? ” 

“ Buona Pasqua, Pietro,” laughed the 
Twins. “We are going out in the garden, 
and we want you to open the door for us.” 

No one but the gardener and the mem- 
bers of the Grifoni family ever went into 


12 


the garden, which lay at the back of the 
palace, for the tenants who occupied other 
portions of the ancient building were not 
allowed to use it, and the Marchese Grifoni 
lived in Florence only during the winter 
months. The rest of the year — and the 
children thought much the best part of it — 
was spent in their beautiful vine-covered 
villa in the hills near Padua. 

Pietro selected a key from the jingling 
bunch which he carried at his belt, and 
opened the old carved door. It was a charm- 
ing sight which greeted their eyes as the 
door swung back on its rusty hinges. The 
garden was small, with a high wall all about 
it, over which ivy spread a mantle of green. 
In the middle of the space a fountain 
splashed and bubbled, and the garden bor- 
ders were gay with yellow daffodils, blue 
chicory, and white Florentine lilies. There 
were other delights also in the Grifoni gar- 
den, for in the fountain lived Garibaldi, a 
turtle of great age and dignity, and in the 
chinks of the walls were lizards which liked 


13 



nothing better than to be tickled with straws 
as they lay basking in the sunshine. 


The moment the children appeared, a 
cloud of pigeons swept down from the 
neighboring roofs and begged for food. 
Beppina held a piece of bread between her 
lips, and a fat pigeon with glistening purple 
feathers on his breast instantly lit upon her 
shoulder. He was followed by another and 
another, until she flung up her arms and 
sent them all skyward in a whirl of wings, 
only to return again a moment later to peck 
the morsel from her lips. 

As she was playing in this way with the 
pigeons, she chanced to glance up at the 
windows of the porter’s rooms which over- 
looked the garden. There, gazing wistfully 
out at them, were six pairs of eyes, belonging 
to Pietro’s six children. Beppina waved her 
hand at them. “ Come out 1 ” she cried gayly, 
and, wild with delight at such an unheard- 
of privilege, the six came scrambling into 
the garden at once. There the eight chil- 
dren played with the pigeons in the sun- 
shine, until in an unlucky moment Pietro’s 
youngest baby fell into the fountain and 


was rescued, screaming with fright, by Bep- 
pina, who got her own dress quite wet in 
the process. 

It was at this very moment, as luck would 
have it, that Teresina appeared in the door- 
way, her ruffled cap bristling and her hands 
upheld in horror at finding the children of 
the Marchese Grifoni playing in the sacred 
palace garden with the dirty little children 
of the porter’s family. 

“ I have been looking everywhere for 
you,” she said with freezing dignity. “ The 
priest will soon be here to bless the house, 
and you, Signorina, are not half dressed, 
and besides, you are as wet as if you had 
been swimming in the fountain ! What 
would the Signora say if she could see 
you now ? ” She glared at the six children 
of Pietro as she spoke, and they instantly 
scuttled back into their own quarters like 
mice who had seen the cat. Then she 
thumped majestically upstairs. 

The children prepared to follow, but all 
the brightness had gone out of the morn- 
16 


ing, and they went slowly and sullenly. 
Though Teresina had a good heart, she had 
a sharp tongue, and the Twins had some 
reason for not loving her. It was now six 
months since she had first appeared before 
them, carrying a little red, wrinkled baby 
on a pillow, and had told them that it was 
their little new sister, and that now the 
Signora, their mother, would love the baby 
much better than she loved them, and she 
had laughed when she said it! Yes, believe 
it or not, she had laughed ! 

“Teresina is always spoiling things,” 
said Beppo, kicking his feet against each 
step as he began to climb the stairs. 

“ Che, che ! ” said Beppina, which is 
Italian for “tut, tut.” “After all, it is quite 
true that we must be ready for the priest. 
What would Mammina say if she knew we 
were wet and dirty when he came ? ” 

Beppo’s face broke suddenly into a beam- 
ing smile. “ I know what I ’ll do! ” he cried, 
and disappeared into the garden again. In 
a moment he came back, carrying some 
i7 


water from the fountain in an old flower- 
pot, and went bounding upstairs two steps 
at a time, slopping it all the way. Beppina 
followed breathlessly, and reached the top 
step just in time to see that bad boy give a 
vigorous pull at the bell. 

There was a scrambling sound within 
before the door was thrown open by Tere- 
sina, who, supposing it to be the priest, 
had instantly called the other servants and 
flopped down upon her knees to receive his 
blessing, and the sprinkling of holy water 
which always accompanied it. Behind Tere- 
sina knelt Maria, the cook, and Antonia, 
the house-maid, with their hands clasped 
and their heads reverently bent, and it was 
only when they had all received a gener- 
ous dose of water which was not at all holy 
that they raised their heads and saw the 
grinning face of Beppo and the empty 
flower-pot in his hand. Teresina started 
wrathfully to her feet, and if the real priest 
had not been heard coming up the stairs at 
that moment things might have gone badly 
18 


with Beppo. As it was, the real priest fol- 
lowed the bogus one so quickly that there 
was just time for the children to slip to 
their knees before Padre Ugo, who was 
short, fat, and breathless, entered, followed 
by an acolyte carrying the vessel of holy 
water. 

Padre Ugo was in a tremendous hurry, 
for he had many other places to visit that 
morning. He fairly ran through the rooms, 
sprinkling each with a dash of holy water, 
mumbling a prayer and raising his hand in 
blessing, then racing on to the next, with 
all the household trailing behind him like 
the tail of a kite. He blessed the kitchen 
and pantries, he even blessed the cat which 
was washing her face by the kitchen range. 
Not being a religious cat, she put up her 
tail and fled into the coal-hole, where she 
stayed until the priest had gone. 

The only room in the whole house to be 
missed was the one occupied by the gov- 
erness. That poor lady had locked herself 
in with her headache, and she was a Prot- 


19 


estant besides, so that room had to go un- 
blessed the whole year through. 

When Padre Ugo had gone, Teresina 
was obliged to give her whole attention to 
the baby, and it was not until she and the 
Twins were ready for the street that at last 
she said stiffly to Beppo, “To-morrow 
morning, Don Beppo, you will find that the 
hares have left no Easter eggs in the gar- 
den for such a naughty boy as you.” 





I 

II 

IN THE PIAZZA 





II 

IN THE PIAZZA 

The clock in the reception hall had already 
struck eleven, when the two children, 
dressed in their best, followed by Teresina, 
passed out beneath the carved stone arch 
of the palace door into the streets of Flor- 
ence. Their way lay through the edge of 
the beautiful Boboli Gardens, where lilacs 
bloomed, and birds were singing as they 
built their nests, past churches and palaces, 
across the Ponte V ecchio, one of the oldest of 
all the old bridges across the Arno, and then 
on through narrow streets on the other side 
of the river, and it was nearly noon when at 
last they reached the Piazza del Duomo. 

The square was a wonderful sight on that 
beautiful spring morning. There in front 
of them rose the great Cathedral, with its 
mighty dome, and beside it stood the bell- 
23 


tower, which Beppina had watched from 
her window in the dawn. Here also in the 
square was the old Baptistery, il bel San 
Giovanni , where Beppo and Beppina, and 
all the other children in Florence had been 
baptized when they were babies. 

From all the side streets entering the 
piazza there poured streams of people, until 
it seemed as if everybody in the world must 
be there. In that great crowd there were 
peasants leading donkeys, with bells jin- 
gling from their scarlet trappings ; there 
were carts filled with black-eyed babies and 
women whose only head-covering was their 
own sleek black braids ; there were farmers 
and peddlers, noblemen and beggars, great 
ladies and gypsies, bare-footed monks and 
tourists, black-hooded Brothers of the Mis- 
ericordia, and organ-grinders, fruit-sellers, 
flower-sellers, old people and young, rich 
and poor, every one eager for the great 
Easter spectacle to begin. 

Teresina found a place for the children 
and herself on the edge of the crowd, and 
2 4 


almost at once there appeared right before 
their eyes a great black car drawn by four 
splendid white oxen all garlanded with 
flowers. This strange black car stopped 
directly in front of the Cathedral ; then from 
the open door of the Baptistery came a sol- 
emn procession, headed by the Archbishop 
bearing a brazier filled with sacred fire. 
The procession disappeared within the 
Cathedral doors, and there was a moment 
of breathless silence both within the church 
and without, as the Archbishop lighted the 
candles on the high altar from the holy fire. 

The instant the candles flamed, the choir 
burst forth in a great swelling chorus. 
“ Glory to God in the highest,” they sang, 
and the bells in the Campanile began to 
ring as if they had suddenly gone mad. 

Then the wonderful thing happened for 
which every one had been waiting. Out of 
the door of the Cathedral, high above the 
heads of the people, there flashed a white 
dove! It sped along a wire to the great 
black car, and the instant it touched it there 

25 


was a terrific bang, then another, and an- 
other, as hissing rockets tore their way into 
the sky. The whole car seemed to blow up 
in a joyful burst of sound ! 

“ Look ! Look ! the Colombina !” shouted 
the people, and as the mechanical dove re- 
turned along its wire to the altar, the air 
was filled with shouts of “ Christ is risen ! 
Buona Pasqua! Buona Pasqua ! ” from a 
thousand throats. 

The bells of the Campanile clashed and 
sang overhead, waking all the bells in Flor- 
ence and in the hills for miles around, so 
that, with the singing and the ringing, there 
was never a more joyful noise made than 
was heard in the Piazza del Duomo on that 
Easter Saturday in Florence ! 

Teresina and the children, shouting like 
the others, had just turned with the crowd 
to follow the car as it moved away from 
the Cathedral doors, when suddenly Tere- 
sina gave a shriek of joy, and, dropping 
their hands, rushed to the side of a cart 
which was standing beside the curb in one 
2 6 



of the streets opening into the square. It is 
not surprising that she forgot the children 
for a moment, for there in the cart sat her 
mother, holding in her arms Teresina’s own 
baby, which she had left at home in order 
to take care of the baby of the Marchesa. 
Moreover, beside the cart was Teresina’s 
husband, and in it there were also her little 
brothers and sisters! 


2 7 


The Twins, thus suddenly loosed from 
Teresina’s grasp, were swept along by the 
crowd, and when, a few moments later, she 
turned to look for them, they were no longer 
in sight. 

Beppina clutched Beppo’s arm as they 
were pushed along by a fat man behind 
them. “We must find Teresina!” she 
shouted in his ear. 

“ We can’t get back ! ” Beppo shouted in 
reply, punching the fat man in the stomach 
with his elbow and pulling Beppina closer 
to his side ; “ and besides,” he went on in a 
lower key, “I ’m glad to get away from her. 
We’ll have a good time by ourselves and 
go home when we get ready without being 
followed around by a nurse like two babies.” 

“What will Mammina say?” gasped 
Beppina. 

“She is n’t here, so she won’t say any- 
thing at all,” said naughty Beppo. Then he 
added with an important wag of his head, 
“Just you stick by me; I ’ll take care of 
you.” 


28 


Beppina had her doubts, but she con- 
sidered Beppo the most remarkable boy in 
the world, so she trotted obediently along 
with her hand in his, sure that he was equal 
to any situation that might arise. 

For an hour or more the two children 
wandered about the piazza, carried hither 
and thither in the wake of the crowds. First 
they followed the black-cowled Misericor- 
dia Brothers as they bore away to the hos- 
pital a sick old man who had fallen in the 
street. Then they found a marionette show 
and stood entranced for a long time before 
it, watching the thrilling adventures of 
Pantalone. After that they crept into the 
dim Cathedral, now nearly empty of people, 
and watched the women who came to light 
their tapers at the Great Paschal Candle 
beside the altar. It was then that they dis- 
covered they were hungry, and, going out 
on the street, they refreshed themselves 
with oranges bought of a fruit-vender. 

If Teresina could have seen the children 
of the Marchesa as they stood sucking 
29 



oranges in the public street, it is likely she 
might have fainted with horror, and been 
carried away to the hospital by the black- 
robed Brothers of Mercy in her turn; but as 
it was, Teresina was not there to see. After 
searching the crowds distractedly for an 
hour, she had rushed back to the palace, 
hoping to find the Twins there before her, 
and turning the whole establishment into 
3 ° 


an uproar when she found they had not yet 
appeared. 

Meanwhile, the children, unconscious of 
time, were wandering about enjoying their 
new freedom, and growing more adventur- 
ous at every step. Though they had fin- 
ished their oranges, they were still hungry, 
and there was a wonderful smell of roasting 
chicken in the air, which Beppo followed 
with the unerring instinct of a hungry boy, 
and soon the two children were standing 
before an open cook-shop in a side street, 
gnawing chicken bones and smacking their 
lips with as much gusto as if they had been 
bred in the streets instead of a palace. 

When they left the cook-shop, with its 
rows of bright copper pots and pans and 
its delicious smells, Beppo had only a few 
soldi left in his pockets, and as for Beppina, 
there had been nothing but a handkerchief 
in hers from the beginning. 

“ Avanti ! ” cried Beppo, made more bold 
than ever by the courage which comes with 
a full stomach. “ Let ’s explore ! ” and, seiz- 
3 1 


ing the hand of the more timid Beppina, he 
ventured farther and farther up the narrow 
street. They had never been in this part of 
the city before in their lives. They had never 
even dreamed that people could live in such 
dark, dirty houses, more like rabbit-war- 
rens than homes for human beings, and on 
streets so narrow that Beppo could easily 
leap across them in one jump. 

They made their way through groups of 
idle loungers, stepping cautiously around 
dirty babies playing in the gutters, and 
past slatternly mothers gossiping in shrill 
tones from doorsteps and open windows, 
quite unconscious of the fact that every one 
turned to look with astonishment at the 
strange spectacle of two well-dressed chil- 
dren walking alone through the burrow-like 
streets of old Florence. 

At the opening of a dark passage they 
almost stumbled over an old woman bent 
over a charcoal-brazier, where she was 
roasting chestnuts. 

“ She looks just like a witch,” whispered 
3 2 



Beppina, making the devil’s horns with her 
fingers to protect herself from the Evil Eye. 
“ Let’s hurry past.” 

They shrank back against the opposite 
wall of the narrow passage and tried to 
squeeze by, but the old woman swept out a 
bony hand and seized Beppina by the skirt. 

33 


“ For the love of Santa Maria, just a few 
soldi, my pretty little lady,” she whined, 
pulling the child toward her. Her smile was 
so terrifying that Beppina gave a little 
scream, and with Beppo’s help tore herself 
free of the old woman’s grasp. Then the 
two fled still farther up the street, followed 
by a storm of abuse and the laughter of the 
idle people they passed in their flight. 

When at last they paused for breath, 
they found themselves in a labyrinth of 
narrow alleys, with no idea of which way 
to turn to get back to the piazza. Beppina 
was frightened, but Beppo said confidently, 
“All we ’ve got to do is to keep on going, 
and we are sure to strike either the piazza 
or the river, and we shall know how to get 
home from either one, so don’t you be 
afraid.” 

Inspired by his boldness, Beppina fol- 
lowed him from one narrow passage to an- 
other, until at last the streets began to widen 
again, and they saw before them an open 
square, and heard the sound of music. They 
34 


ran joyously forward and found themselves 
in a beautiful but strange piazza, with a 
great fountain playing in the center, and 
fine old buildings surrounding it on all sides. 

The source of the music was hidden by 
a throng of people gathered together near 
the fountain. “It’s a hand-organ,” cried 
Beppo eagerly. “ Maybe there *s a mon- 
key ! ” and he dashed into the midst of the 
crowd. 

Beppina followed close behind, and the 
two worked their way under the elbows of 
the grown people until they reached the 
very center, where they were thrilled to find 
a dark, swarthy man, holding a bear by a 
rope. The bear was dancing clumsily on 
his hind legs, and near by a woman with 
black eyes and hair and great rings in her 
ears was grinding an organ. On top of the 
organ sat a monkey in a red cap shaking a 
tambourine. Behind the group stood a yel- 
low van, drawn by two donkeys gayly 
tricked out with scarlet nets and jingling 
bells. 


35 


The Twins had no sooner arrived upon 
the scene than the music stopped, the bear 
dropped upon all fours, and the monkey, 
hopping down from the organ, began to leap 
about among the people, holding out the 
tambourine for money. Then it was won- 
derful to see how rapidly the crowd melted 
away! In a few moments the children were 
the only ones left. Beppo gave his last coin 
to the monkey, and the woman, throwing 
a black look after the disappearing crowd, 
ground out another tune for them on the 
organ, while the monkey, to Beppo’ s great 
delight, leaped upon his shoulder and 
searched his pockets with her little black 
paws. 

The man, meanwhile, was preparing to 
start away. He handed the bears rope to 
his wife and, climbing to the driver’s seat 
of the van, cracked his whip, and shouted, 
“Aiou! aiou ! you laggards!” to the don- 
keys. The monkey leaped from Beppo’s 
shoulder to the back of the bear, and, as 
the caravan began to move, turned somer- 
36 


saults on the bear’s back with such won- 
derful agility that no boy on earth could have 
resisted following her. The woman said 
something to her husband which the chil- 
dren did not understand, though they did 
not know that it was because she spoke to 
him in the Venetian dialect ; then she turned 
to Beppo and said with an insinuating smile, 
“Where is it that the Signore lives?” 

Now here was a woman of sense! She 
called him Signore, as if he were already a 
grown man! Beppo swelled with satisfac- 
tion and answered promptly, “ In the Palace 
Grifoni, across the river.” 

“ Si, si,” said the woman, which in Italian 
means “Yes, yes.” “We are going in that 
direction. Would you not like to go with 
us and lead the bear?” Oh, if Teresina 
could have heard that! Here were people 
who thought him quite big enough to lead 
a live bear, while she — and Mammina, too, 
for that matter — thought he still should be 
followed by a nurse! 

Beppo leaped boldly forward, though 
37 





Beppina tried to hold him back, and, seiz- 
ing the bear’s rope, marched proudly along 
behind the van. The woman laughed and 
clapped her hands. “Bravo, bravo!” she 
cried. Then, turning to the panic-stricken 
Beppina, she said comfortingly: “The old 
Ugolone will not hurt him. He is very old 
and as tame as a kitten. See!” She gave 
the bear a slap and walked along beside 
him with her hand on his back, and Bep- 
pina could do nothing but follow. 

38 


For some time they trailed the van in 
this way, together with a small army of 
boys and girls, who were consumed with 
envy for Beppo and hoped they too might 
be allowed a turn at leading the bear. One 
by one they had dropped away and returned 
to their homes before the Twins realized 
that the afternoon was nearly spent and 
night was approaching. 

“We must go home now, please,” said 
Beppina politely to the woman. 

“ Si, si,” said the woman, nodding her 
head and smiling more than ever. “ We 
shall soon see the river.” 

This assurance quieted Beppina for a 
time, and she trudged patiently along until 
they reached the very outskirts of the city, 
and still no bridge and no river had ap- 
peared. Not Beppina only, but Beppo too 
now began to be alarmed. Where were 
they going ? Oh, if only the gray walls of 
the Grifoni palace would rise before them ! 
Beppo even began to modify his opinion 
about Teresina. Her ruff and streamers 


39 


would have been as welcome a sight to him 
just then as an oasis to travelers in the des- 
ert. But alas! Teresina was at that mo- 
ment many miles away, and distracted with 
anxiety and grief. The bewildered Beppina 
now began to cry. 

“Come, my pretty,” said the woman in 
a wheedling tone, “you are tired, is it not 
so? You shall rest the weary legs.” Her 
voice was soft, but she seized Beppina with 
a grip of steel, and swung her up into the 
back of the moving van. “You too, my 
brave one,” she went on, taking the bear’s 
rope from Beppo’s hand, and tying it to a 
ring in the back of the cart. “ Up you go.” 
She gave him a shove as he scrambled up 
beside Beppina, and then, tossing the mon- 
key in after him, swung herself up beside 
the children. 

The road now began to ascend, and the 
Twins with growing terror watched the sun 
sink lower and lower behind the dome of 
the Cathedral, which they could see in the 
distance. Beppina shook with sobs, and 
40 


Beppo sat pale and frightened as the tower 
and the dome, the only landmarks they 
knew in Florence, grew darker and darker 
against the sunset sky. 

“ Do not cry, madonna mia,” said the 
woman, giving Beppina a little shake. “You 
have missed your way, but what of that? 
You are safe with us. If you have money 
in your pockets you might possibly find 
your way home even yet, though it is nearly 
dark, and it is very dangerous for children 
to go about alone.” 

“But we haven’t any money,” said 
Beppo. “ I gave all I had to the mon- 
key! ” 

“Ah,” said the woman, “that is bad, to 
go back without money ! You would spend 
the night in the streets without doubt, or 
possibly in the jail. If the police found you 
they would take you for vagrants. It would 
be terrible indeed if the police should get 
you ! Still, if you think best you can jump 
down and start back right now. I do not 
believe the bear would hurt you, even 
4 1 


though he does not like to have any one 
jump right in front of him ! ” 

The children looked down at Ugolone, 
lumbering along behind the van. If they 
jumped it must be almost on top of him, 
and in the darkness he looked as big as a 
house and very alarming. Even Beppo lost 
his swagger, and as for Beppina, she was 
speechless with terror. The woman con- 
tinued to cajole them. 

“Soon we shall camp beside the road for 
the night,” she said, “and you shall have 
something hot for your supper, and sleep in 
the van as cozy as birds in a nest. That is 
surely much better than the jail ! And to- 
morrow — oh, la bella vita! just think, you 
shall grind the organ and play with Carina 
all day long, and there will be no lessons ! ” 
There was no response to this alluring 
prospect. The children, homesick, weary, 
terror-stricken, clung to each other in the 
darkness, and shrank as far as possible 
from the woman, whom they now saw to 
be not their friend, but their jailer. 

42 


On and on through the deepening dark- 
ness lumbered the yellow van, until it 
seemed to the unhappy children that it must 
be nearly morning. At last, however, the 
team turned from the highroad and stopped 
beside a little stream. The woman sprang 
out, and while her husband unharnessed 
the donkeys and tied Ugolone to a tree for 
the night, she built a fire, and hung a kettle 
over it. She put the monkey in Beppina’s 
arms, and sent Beppo for water from the 
stream, and to gather sticks for the fire. 

Soon a kettleful of steaming mush was 
ready, and the woman, whose name was 
Carlotta, called Luigi, her husband, and, 
giving the children each a tin dish, bade 
them eat their supper. Even if it had been 
her favorite food, Beppina could not have 
swallowed a mouthful that night, but Beppo, 
though he too was homesick, could still eat, 
even though nothing better than polenta 
was offered him. He sat down with Car- 
lotta and Luigi before the fire on the ground, 
while Beppina stayed in the back of the 
43 


van, hugging the monkey to her lonely 
heart and striving to keep back the tears. 

The flickering flames lit up the trunks of 
the trees, making them stand out like sen- 
tinels against the velvet darkness of the 
woods beyond, and sending dancing shad- 
ows of the bear and the donkeys far across 
the murmuring stream. The moon looked 
down through the tree-tops and the night- 
ingales sang plaintively in the shadows. 

After supper, while Luigi sat smoking 
his pipe by the fire, Carlotta threw a heap 
of straw into one corner of the van, and 
said to the children : “ Come hither, my 
poverelli! Here is a soft bed for you! Lie 
down and sleep!” Too tired to do any- 
thing else, if, indeed, there had been any- 
thing else in the world for them to do, the 
children obeyed, and, clasped in each other’s 
arms, soon fell asleep, worn out with sor- 
row and fatigue. 


Ill 

IN THE MOUNTAINS 










Ill 

IN THE MOUNTAINS 

They were awakened next morning by the 
chattering of the monkey, and, looking out 
from their corner, they could not for a mo- 
ment remember where they were, or how 
they came to be there. The sun was shin- 
ing brightly, the birds were singing, and 
Carlotta was up and stirring something in 
a pot over the fire. Luigi had gone with 
the donkeys to give them a drink, and Ugo- 
lone^was standing on his hind legs beside 
his tree, grunting impatiently for his break- 
fast. 

Beppina gazed at the strange scene for 
one blank moment, then, as memory came 
back, she buried her head in the straw and 
sobbed. Beppo tried to comfort her. 

“Don’t cry, Beppinella,” he whispered. 
“ To-day we shall find some way of return- 
47 


ing to Florence. I feel sure of it ! It might 
be worse. Pazienza! We must make the 
best of it.” 

Just then, Carlotta, hearing the muffled 
sobs and the murmur of his voice, appeared 
at the end of the van. 

“Come out, little lost ones,” she called 
to them. “The sun shines, and we shall 
have a fine day in the mountains. See, here 
is Carina waiting to greet you ! ” She tossed 
the monkey toward them as she spoke, and 
disappeared around the end of the van. 
Soon she returned, carrying in her hand a 
green blouse and a gay striped skirt. 

“ Here,” she said to Beppina, “ I will lend 
these to you. Then you can save your 
pretty clothes so they will be clean to wear 
when you return to your Mammina.” She 
spoke so confidently of their return that 
Beppina thought perhaps the woman meant 
to take them back that very day. She re- 
luctantly put on the queer blouse and the 
striped skirt, while Beppo arrayed himself 
in a pair of velveteen trousers which were 
48 


as much too long for him as the skirt was 
for Beppina. Carlotta had brought these 
also, and she gave him a red sash to bind 
around his waist as well. When they were 
equipped in these garments the two chil- 
dren gazed at each other in dismay. 

“You don’t look like Beppo at all. You 
look just like a bandit,” said Beppina. 

“ And you — you look like a gypsy girl! ” 
gasped Beppo. 

“ Even Mammina would n’t know us if 
she were to see us now,” Beppina whis- 
pered, despairingly. 

“That’s just why that woman did it!” 
gasped Beppo, with sudden illumination. 
“She doesn’t care a bit about saving our 
clothes ! She wants to disguise us, so peo- 
ple will think we belong to them ! ” 

“ Oh, dear ! ” shuddered Beppina. “ Let ’s 
change back again.” 

They seized their clothes, but just then 
they saw Carlotta’ s glittering black eyes 
gazing in at them from the end of the van. 
It was as if she knew their very thoughts. 

49 


“ Avanti, avanti! ” she called. “Is it that 
you are lazy? Come! We must be on the 
road ! ” 

Not daring to linger or protest the two 
strange little figures came tumbling out of 
the straw at once, and, after washing in the 
brook, sat down on a fallen log to eat their 
breakfast. Carina perched beside them on 
the log, and, when she had finished her 
own portion, leaped on Ugolone’s back, 
and, leaning down, snatched away some of 
his breakfast from under his nose. In vain 
poor old Ugolone growled and slapped at 
5o 



her with his clumsy paws. He was always 
too slow to catch her. 

The children were so absorbed in watch- 
ing this drama that they did not notice 
what Carlotta was doing meanwhile, but 
later, when they looked for their own 
clothes again, they had mysteriously dis- 
appeared, and were not seen again. 

When they had finished breakfast, Car- 
lotta called to Beppina, “ Come here, po- 
verina! Your hair is full of straw. I will 
fix it for you.” Beppina obeyed, and the 
woman coaxed her tangled locks into place, 
combing them with her fingers, and at last 
succeeded in plaiting them into a number 
of tight braids which she wound about her 
head. “ There,” said she when this was done, 
“now you will no longer need your hat.” 

“But,” said Beppina, “I want my hat! 
Only peasants go bare-headed. ” The woman 
gave a short laugh, and her teeth gleamed 
so white between her lips that Beppina 
thought of the wolf who tried to pass him- 
self off for Red Riding Hood’s grandmother. 
5 1 


“ Do as you are told,” said Carlotta. She 
smiled as she said it, but there was such a 
fierce look in her face that Beppina made 
the sign against the Evil Eye, with her hand 
behind .her, and submitted silently as Car- 
lotta tied a red kerchief over the braids. 
These preparations completed, the caravan 
moved on, with Luigi as usual in the driver’s 
seat, Carlotta leading the bear, and the 
Twins, carrying the monkey, bringing up 
the rear. 

On and on they traveled, but in which 
direction the children could only guess. 
There were many turns in the road, which 
wound constantly upward, and with every 
mile the country grew more wild. Through 
openings between the hills they caught 
fleeting glimpses of quaint villages clinging 
to the mountain-sides, and of ancient castles 
commanding beautiful views across fertile 
valleys. At one time they saw the roofs of 
a great stone monastery, hidden away among 
olive trees. They heard the music of its 
bells and caught faint echoes of the chant- 
52 



ing of the monks. It was then that they re- 
membered that it was Easter Sunday. 

“If we were at home, we should now be 
hunting Easter eggs and sugar lambs in the 
garden,” whispered Beppina. 

“Teresina said there wouldn’t be any 
there, anyway,” Beppo answered, winking 
very hard; and then neither one said any- 
thing for a long time. 

All day long the donkeys plodded up the 
steep slopes, only stopping by the wayside 
S3 


for rest and food at noon. It was evident 
that Luigi thought best to keep to the least- 
frequented mountain ways, so all through 
the sunny hours the sad little travelers 
walked behind the van, or climbed inside 
to rest their weary feet, not knowing where 
they were going and not daring to ask. 

At sunset they reached the crest of a high 
hill, and, looking back, they could see far, 
far away in the purple distance, the twinkling 
lights of the city of Florence, looking like 
a sky full of stars fallen to earth. On the 
slopes of nearer hills there were other twin- 
kling lights like chains of jewels winding in 
and out among the trees. The mountain 
villages were celebrating the Easter festival 
with candle-lit processions and with sing- 
ing. The words of the Easter song floated 
across the blue spaces. “The Royal Ban- 
ners forward go,” came the faint chant, and, 
mingling with the vesper song of thrush 
and nightingale, lulled the tired travelers to 
dreamless sleep. 


IV 

THEY LEARN TO DANCE 





# 









IV 

THEY LEARN TO DANCE 

It was cold in the mountains, and the chil- 
dren shivered as Carlotta routed them out 
in the early dawn of the next morning. 
“Come,” she said crossly, as she set up the 
forked sticks for the kettle, “bestir your- 
selves, lazy ones ! We are poor people. Do 
you think we can afford to feed you and 
wait upon you like servants besides? To- 
day there must be no more sniveling and 
whining. Beppo, take the pail and fetch 
water. You, Beppina, gather sticks for the 
fire.” 

Her wheedling manner was now quite 
gone. Instead she gave her orders with 
such a threatening look that the children 
trembled with fear as they hastened to 
obey. At a little distance from the spot 
where they were encamped, a stream, fed 
57 


by a mountain spring, gushed forth from a 
pile of rocks, and Beppo, seizing the pail, 
plunged into the dark pine woods to find it. 
Beppina followed, and the instant they found 
themselves alone in the forest, the two hid 
behind a tree and held a hurried consulta- 
tion. 

‘‘Listen, cocca mia,” whispered Beppo. 
“ I have thought this all out They do not 
mean to take us back, ever! They will keep 
us like slaves to work for them ! If we want 
to see our home again, we must obey every- 
thing they say, no matter how hard. Then 
some day, when they are n’t watching, we 
will run away. Only not in these moun- 
tains! We should only die of hunger and 
be eaten by the wolves.” 

Beppina shuddered. “ Oh, Beppo,” she 
sobbed, “ there is a lump in my throat as 
big as an egg! I cannot swallow it. When 
I think of Mammina, it seems to me I shall 
die! ” 

Beppo gave her a little shake. “ But you 
must be brave,” he said. “Every day we 
S3 


will have a word together, and soon our 
chance will come.” 

“I’ll try, Beppo,” said Beppina, gulping 
down her sobs. 

“Good girl !” said Beppo, patting her 
approvingly, though his own lips trembled 
and his voice shook. “Don’t you remem- 
ber how it is in the fairy tales ? The prince 
always kills the giants and dragons if only 
he is n’t afraid, even if he has to pass 
through enchanted forests.” 

Beppina looked fearfully over her shoul- 
der. “Oh, Beppo,” she gasped, “I didn’t 
think of it before, but now I ’m sure. This 
is an enchanted forest, and Carlotta is a 
witch woman! We must pray always to 
the Holy Virgin to protect us. Promise me 
you will ! ” 

“ I promise,” said Beppo solemnly; “ and 
don’t you forget about the prince either.” 

Just then they heard Carlotta’s voice 
shouting at them, and, leaping apart, they 
fled to do their errands. 

When breakfast had been eaten, and the 
59 


animals fed, Luigi lit his pipe and stretched 
out on the ground beside the fire with the 
monkey beside him. 

“Here we stay a little,” he said. “Ugo- 
lone lies there like one dead. The donkeys 
are tired and so am I. We have come thirty 
miles from Florence.” 

“Ecco!” said Carlotta. “Then there is 
time for bean soup.” She sent Beppo for 
more water, and, when the kettle was bub- 
bling on the fire, called the children to her 
side. “Tell me,” she said, “can you dance?” 

“A little,” quavered Beppina. 

“Dance, then,” said the woman. 

Beppina reluctantly seized her skirts, and, 
making a dancing-school bow, took a few 
dainty steps and tripped over a stone. 

Carlotta laughed contemptuously. ‘ ‘ Santa 
Maria!” she said, “you don’t call that 
dancing ! ” Then, beckoning to her husband, 
she cried, “But they know nothing! They 
cannot earn their salt! We have made a 
bad bargain. Come, then, and we will teach 
these ignorant ones the trescone ! ” 

60 


Luigi grunted as he rose unwillingly from 
his hard couch, tied the monkey’s string 
about a tree branch, and came forward. 

“Watch closely, both of you,” said Car- 
lotta to the children. “ It is for you to dance 
like Tuscans, not like marionettes. Even 
old Ugolone can do better.” 

Once he was roused, Luigi’s weariness 
seemed to vanish. He suddenly seized 
Carlotta’s hands, and, holding her at arm’s 
length, began to wheel and jump, to turn 
and twist in all sorts of curious figures. 
Sometimes the dancers’ arms were linked 
above their heads. Sometimes they shook 
a lifted foot. Faster and faster they whirled, 
and the monkey, inspired by their example, 
began to leap and bound about at the end 
of her string, chattering wildly. 

The speed of the dancers slackened like 
that of a spinning top, and they came to a 
sudden standstill. Luigi returned to Carina 
and his place by the fire, and Carlotta got 
out the hand-organ. All the morning she 
made the children practice the figures of 
61 


the dance to music, until they were ready 
to drop with fatigue. While she prepared 
the soup for their noon meal they were 
allowed to rest, but immediately afterwards 
the donkeys were harnessed again, and to 
the music of their tinkling bells the ittle 
cavalcade moved on. 

For some time they traveled over the 
steep mountain roads without seeing a soul ; 
then they met a girl driving a flock of sheep 
to pasture. Later they overtook some peas- 
ant women walking like queens with great 
loads of wood on their heads. Beyond them 
they passed an ox-team, and Beppo whis- 
pered to Beppina, “ It ’s a good sign to meet 
oxen in the road.” But alas, a moment later 
they met a priest, mumbling his prayers as 
he walked. It was a glance of despair that 
Beppina gave her brother then, for it is very 
bad luck to meet a priest in the road, as 
every Tuscan child can tell you. 

Nevertheless, all these signs, bad and 
good, indicated that they were approaching 
a town, and a few moments later they came 
62 





to a stream where women were washing 
clothes, and the van rumbled across a bridge 
and into the open square of a small moun- 
tain village. In an instant there was great 
excitement in the town, and all the inhab- 
itants swarmed about the van. 

Luigi climbed down from the driver’s 
seat, with Carina on his shoulder, and loosed 
the bear’s rope, while Carlotta brought out 

63 


the organ, and gave the tambourine to the 
monkey. 

“Balia! Balia!” cried Luigi, and Ugo- 
lone rising to his hind legs wearily began 
his clumsy dance. The children, meanwhile, 
shrank back out of sight in the van. 

“She will make us dance like the bear, 
I know she will,” moaned Beppina, “and I 
cannot remember the steps!” She crossed 
herself frantically, and said a prayer to the 
Virgin, but it was of no avail, for soon 
Carlotta’s wheedling tones reached their 
hiding-place. 

“Avanti, carissimi,” she called, and, not 
daring to disobey or even to linger, the 
children leaped from the back of the van 
into the center of a crowd of round-eyed 
villagers. The children of the Marchese 
Grifoni dancing in company with a monkey 
and a bear for the entertainment of an au- 
dience of peasants ! The humiliation of it 
was almost more than they could endure, 
but the Twins did their best, and the mo- 
ment the performance was over dived into 
6 4 



the back of the van. and hid themselves 
again, while Carina leaped about among 
the crowd, gathering the soldi in her tam- 
bourine. 

Their stay in the village was short, for 
the people were poor. 

“It is a town of pigs,” said Carlotta an- 
grily, as she counted the money, and to the 
great relief of the children she gave the 
65 


order to move on into the hills beyond the 
village. 

They stopped at one more village during 
the afternoon, and here things went bet- 
ter. The children remembered their steps, 
and there were more soldi in the tambou- 
rine, even though Ugolone sat firmly down 
upon his haunches and refused to budge. 
In vain Luigi tugged at his rope and 
shouted “ Balia ! Balia !” It was as if Ugo- 
lone, seeing the children dance, had con- 
cluded that his dancing days were over, 
and had resigned in their favor. 

To make up for Ugolone the Twins had 
to dance again and again, and then to their 
great surprise Carlotta made them sing ! 
They had voices like the whistle of song 
thrushes in the spring, but how in the world 
could Carlotta have guessed that? They 
were too astonished to refuse, even if they 
had dared, so they opened their mouths 
and quavered out a song about the swal- 
low, which they had learned in the nursery 
at home. 


66 


This was the song: — 

“Pilgrim swallow, lightly winging, 

Now upon the terrace sitting, 

Ev’ry morn I hear thee singing, 

In sad tones thy song repeating. 

What may be the tale thou ’rt telling, 
Pilgrim swallow, near my dwelling? 

“Thou art happier far than I am; 

On free wing at least thou ’rt flying 
Over lake and breezy mountain. 

Thou canst fill the air with crying 
His dear name through cave and hollow. 
Thou art free, thou pretty swallow.” 

It was so familiar a song that all the 
people joined with them in singing it, and 
some of them danced to the music of the 
hand-organ when it played, so that alto- 
gether the villagers had a gay time, and as 
a result Carlotta found many more coins 
than usual in the tambourine when the per- 
formance was over. She glanced trium- 
phantly at her husband as she counted the 
money. “We have caught two pigeons 
with one pea after all,” she said to him. 

67 


“As for that lazy Ugolone, he gets no 
supper! If he will not work, he shall not 
eat ! ” 

The children heard and shuddered. “She 
will treat us like that, too,” sobbed Beppina, 
“and if she’s truly a witch she may even 
turn us into bears ! ” 

Out through sunny vineyards and gray 
olive orchards beyond the town they fol- 
lowed the winding road, and, as night came 
on, the weary children saw that they were 
approaching a ruined castle set high on a 
spur of the Apennines. The wind swept 
over the bare hill-top and whistled through 
the windows of its ruined towers, where 
hundreds of years before lovely ladies had 
watched their knights ride forth to battle. 

It was a bleak and lonely spot, fit only 
to be inhabited by ghosts, and Beppina 
shivered as the wheels of the van rattled 
over the ancient draw-bridge, and stopped 
in the overgrown court-yard. 

“I know it’s enchanted,” she whispered 
to Beppo, and Beppo, his own teeth chat- 
68 


tering, could only say, “ Remember about 
the prince,” to keep up their failing courage. 

There was no sign of human beings 
about the place, and Luigi took possession 
as if he owned it. He tied Ugolone in the 
ruins of what had once been a stately ban- 
queting-hall, and let the donkeys eat their 
supper from the green grass which carpeted 
the court-yard. 

Soon a fire was blazing in the ruins of 
an ancient chimney, and the tired travelers 
gathered about it for their evening meal. 
From the tower came the surprised hoot 
69 


of a solitary owl, and bats, disturbed by the 
light, swooped in great circles about the 
little group as they silently ate their polenta. 
Even the monkey seemed to feel the weird 
spell of the place, for she cowered in a cor- 
ner by the fire, chattering to herself, while 
from the banqueting-hall came the com- 
plaining growls of poor hungry Ugolone. It 
was to such music as this that the children 
of the Marchese at last fell asleep. 



V 

ON THE ROAD 



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V 

ON THE ROAD 

When they awoke the next morning Car- 
lotta and Luigi were nowhere in sight. The 
monkey was tied to one wheel of the van, 
and from the banqueting-hall came the 
sound of human voices, quarreling. The 
tones were so loud that the children could 
not help hearing the words. 

“It is all your fault!” said Luigi’s voice. 
“ It was you who made me get the bear in 
the first place, and undertake this foolish 
trip, all because you must again see your 
people in Florence. If we had but stayed 
in Venice ! The bear was old when we got 
him ; he was already tired and sick when 
we left Florence, and now, per Bacco, he is 
dead! You would not feed him, yet it was 
Ugolone that we depended upon to bring 
in the money. A hand-organ, a monkey — 
73 


what are they ? And now you have added 
those brats beside for us to feed ! This 
comes of listening to a woman and a 
smooth-tongued Tuscan at that. I could 
beat you! ” 

Carlotta’s wheedling voice answered 
him. “Do not grieve, my angel,” she said ; 
“you will yet see the wisdom of your Car- 
lotta. Ugolone was old and sick, it is true. 
A pest upon the villain who sold him to us! 
May his eyes weep rivers of tears ! But you 
are wrong about the children. They are 
worth more than Ugolone, the donkeys, 
and the van, all put together. Did you not 
see how they pleased the people yesterday? 
I will teach them to sing more songs, and 
to dance the tarantella as well as the tres- 
cone, and we shall soon forget this sorrow. 
When we reach the coast, we will sell the 
van and the donkeys, and go back to your 
beloved Venice, to live in comfort on the 
earnings of these brats! You shall see!” . 

“That ’s more of your oily Tuscan talk,” 
growled Luigi. “ Think of the risk we run ! 

74 


If the ragazzini should be recognized, it 
would go hard with us. Their parents will 
lay every trap to catch us. It is safe enough 
in these mountain villages, but in the larger 
towns it will be a different story. There 
are the police — ” 

Carlotta interrupted him. “ Che, che 1 ” 
she cried. “You have the heart of a chicken ! 
I tell you, even their own mother would 
hardly know them now, and it will be easy 
to hide them in Venice. We shall be like 
rats in the walls of a house, where the cat 
cannot follow. As for traps — we are too 
sharp for them. Even if we were to be seen 
and tracked, they will not seek donkeys 
and a van in Venice, where there are no 
such things.” 

Luigi only grunted for reply, and Car- 
lotta, seeing that her arguments had made 
an impression, boldly finished her plan. 

“When we reach the coast,” she said, 
“ you remain behind to sell the van, and I 
will go on to Venice with the ragazzini. 
We shall not be pursued upon the boat. 

75 


Courage ! In a few days we shall be safe, and 
then we can live at ease, and you will say, 
‘ Ah, what a great head has my Carlotta ! 9 ” 

There was no reply from Luigi, and soon 
the children heard their returning footfalls 
on the stone flagging. 

“Pretend you’re asleep,” whispered 
Beppo. “We mustn’t let them think we 
overheard.” They instantly lay down in 
the straw again, and when Carlotta came to 
the back of the van a moment later, she was 
obliged to call twice before she could arouse 
them ! 

While Carlotta, looking very glum, was 
cooking the everlasting polenta, the chil- 
dren crept fearsomely into the ruined tower 
to take a last look at poor old Ugolone. 
There he lay on the flag-stones, a shape- 
less lump of fur, and a little later Luigi 
skinned him, hung the pelt on the back of 
the van, and, leaving the bones to whiten 
where they lay, set forth once more upon 
the road; From this time on things grew 
harder and harder for the unhappy children. 

7 6 





Carlotta was caressing and smooth in her 
manner to them when they were in the vil- 
lages, calling them “my children,” “ caris- 
simi,” which means “dearest,” and other 
tender names, but when they were by them- 
selves she grew more and more harsh, while 
Luigi was sullen, and scarcely spoke to 
them at all. 


77 


It was Carlotta who made them dance 
until they were ready to drop with fatigue, 
and sing when their hearts were breaking. 
Everywhere the people thought them charm- 
ing, and it was true, as Carlotta had said, 
that they brought in more money than 
Ugolone. 

They were now passing through one of 
the most lovely regions in the world, but 
its beauty failed to comfort them or recon- 
cile them to their lot. The rocky ramparts 
and blue horizon of the mountains were but 
prison walls to them, from which they 
longed to escape. One night, as they lay 
shivering in the straw, with Carlotta and 
Luigi snoring at the other end of the van, 
Beppo cautiously nudged his sister. 

“ It sounds, like Teresina,” he whispered. 
“ Don’t you remember how she snored that 
day we left home?” 

“Don’t,” begged Beppina. “It makes 
me homesick.” 

“ I never thought I could wish to hear 
Teresina snore,” Beppo answered, “but 
78 


now it would be music in my ears.” They 
were silent a few minutes, and then Bep- 
pina — timid Beppina — put her lips close 
to Beppo’s ear and whispered, “Let’s get 
out and run away.” 

“Where to?” Beppo whispered. 
“Anywhere, anywhere away from here! ” 
said poor Beppina. “I’d rather starve in 
the mountains than stay any longer. We 
could creep out without waking them.” 

“ It ’s awfully dark,” said Beppo, “and 
we ’ll have to climb right over them ! ” 
“Oh, let*s try,” urged Beppina. They 
sat up cautiously and peered out. They 
could just see a dark mass blocking up the 
open end of the van. They struggled to 
their knees. The straw rustled, and they 
stopped dead, until everything was still 
again. Then Beppo rose to his feet, and, 
treading very carefully, took a step toward 
the end of the van. But alas, he had for- 
gotten the monkey! She slept beside her 
mistress, and Beppo stepped on her tail ! 
There was a scream as Carina leaped up in 
79 


the air, and lit on Beppo’s shoulder, chat- 
tering furiously, and Beppo instantly 
dropped down into the straw again. 

“What’s the matter?” said Carlotta. 

The children could see her dark silhou- 
ette as she sat up and looked into the dark 
interior of the van. 

“Carina mia! What is the matter?” 

“ Lie down,” growled Luigi. “ She has 
had a bad dream. <Go to sleep ! ” The mon- 
key leaped to Carlotta’ s arm, snuggled down 
beside her, and quiet reigned once more. 
When the snores began again, the children 
had no courage for a second attempt, and 
morning found things as hopeless as ever. 

They were now descending the eastern 
slopes of the Apennines, and Beppo, re- 
membering his geography, knew that they 
were getting farther and farther from Flor- 
ence. At noon that day, as they were walk- 
ing ahead of the van, they rounded a turn 
in the road, and came suddenly upon a view 
stretching far across the plains of eastern 
Italy to where the blue waters of the 
80 


Adriatic lay sparkling in the sun. The land- 
scape was dotted with villages, and far 
away in the blue distance they could see 
the spires and towers of a large coast town. 

Beppo’s spirits rose a little. “See,” he 
said to Beppina, “ we are coming out of the 
mountains into a region where there are 
many towns. Who knows? Perhaps we 
may find a chance to get away. It would 
be less dangerous here than in the hills.” 

But again they were doomed to disap- 
pointment, for the next day it rained, and 
Carlotta made them stay hidden in the van 
as it lumbered slowly through the villages 
on the road to the sea. Though it was only 
two days, it seemed at least a week that 
they lay in the straw, listening to the rum- 
ble of the wheels and the patter of the rain 
on the roof. There could be no fires, so 
their food was bread and cheese, which 
Carlotta bought in the towns. 

At last, early on the third morning, they 
heard from their prison a new sound, and, 
peering cautiously over Luigi’s shoulder, 
81 


saw that at last they had reached the sea. 
They could hear the slapping of waves 
against the piles of a dock, and could catch 
glimpses of green water. Men with trucks 
were hurrying by, loading fruit and vege- 
tables upon a large boat which was tied to 
the pier. There was so much noise about 
them that the children could talk together 
in low tones without being overheard. 

“I know where we are,” said Beppo. 
“ I tell you, I ’m glad I studied geography ! 
The sun is breaking through the clouds 
over the water, and it ’s early morning, so 
that’s the east, of course. We heard Car- 
lotta say they were going to take us to 
Venice, so this must be a coast town on the 
Adriatic. It isn’t Ravenna, because Ra- 
venna is back from the sea a few miles. The 
only other big port along here is Rimini, 
and I ’ll bet that ’s just where we are.” 

“ Oh, Beppo, what a wonderful boy you 
are, to think that all out yourself!” said 
Beppina. “ You ’re such a wonderful thinker ! 
Why can’t you think of a way to escape?” 

82 



“ I do think, all the time,” answered poor 
Beppo, “but Carlotta is just like a cat at a 
mouse-hole. Her eyes never leave us, and if 
we should try to run, she would pounce — ” 
“Hush!” whispered Beppina, “there 
she is.” There, indeed, she was, smiling 
craftily at them from the end of the van. 

“You may come out now, my little 
ones,” she said in her most syrupy tones. 
“ Here we leave the van with Luigi, while 
we take a nice boat-ride ! ” She seized them 

83 


firmly by the hands, and, followed by Luigi 
carrying the organ and the monkey, led 
them over the gang-plank on to the boat. 
Once aboard, she sought an obscure corner, 
behind the baskets of fruit and vegetables 
with which the vessel was loaded, and made 
the children sit beside her, while Luigi piled 
around them numerous bundles brought 
from the van. 

At last the rumble of trucks ceased, the 
sailors loosed the great hawsers which tied 
the boat to the dock, and in a few moments 
the children, looking back to the shore, saw 
a widening strip of green water between 
them and their native land. 


VI 

t 

VENICE 












* 


J 




VI 

VENICE 

For two beautiful bright days they re- 
mained on the boat, as it made its way up 
the eastern coast of Italy, and on the morn- 
ing of the third, there, rising before them 
out of the mists, like a dream city afloat 
upon the waters, was Venice! It was so 
lovely, with its domes, towers, and palaces 
mirrored in the still waters, and its hundreds 
of sails making spots of bright color against 
the blue, that for a short time the children 
almost forgot their grief. As the boat en- 
tered a great lagoon, and slowly made its 
way through the Canal della Giudecca to 
the landing-place, Carlotta grew more than 
ever vigilant. The children had hoped 
against hope that some way of escape might 
appear when they reached the dock, but 
Carlotta remained at their elbows every 
87 


moment, and under her watchful eyes they 
could not even speak to each other, much 
less to any one else. 

It was evident that she meant to make 
them understand how impossible it would 
be for them to get away from Venice, for 
as the boat rounded the western side of the 
island upon which the city is built, she 
pointed out to them the mainland, lying 
two miles away across the water, and the 
long black railroad bridge which is the only 
connection between the two. 

“You see how it is, my little ones,” she 
said. “One cannot leave Venice without 
a boat, a ticket on the railway, or wings ! 
And truly, how could any one wish to leave 
it? Luigi has been wretched all the time he 
has been away, and never wishes to desert 
his beloved city again. You too will feel 
the same.” 

The children made no reply. They were 
as helpless as caged birds, and could only fol- 
low her silently, as she loaded them with bun- 
dles, and, herself carrying the organ and the 
88 


monkey, led the way across the gang-plank 
to the dock. Staggering under their bur- 
dens, they entered the city of Venice. Oh, 
if they could only have entered it with their 
dear Babbo, or Mammina, how happy they 
would have been, for there, right before 
their eyes as they walked, were all the won- 
derful things which Beppo had learned 
about in his geography ! 

There were the canals with the gondolas 
flitting about on them like black beetles on 
a pool. There were the great beautiful build- 
ings with their fafades rising out of the 
water, and their back doors opening upon 
narrow streets or tiny open squares. There 
were the glimpses of blossoming tree-tops 
hanging over high walls, and of balconies 
gay with potted geraniums and carnations 
in bloom. There were the beautiful stone 
door-ways with gayly painted posts beside 
them, to which empty gondolas were tied. 

The air was misty and fragrant with sea 
smells, and in every direction they looked 
their eyes were greeted with the lovely 
89 


colors of the old buildings, reflected in the 
water so clearly that it seemed as if there 
were two cities, one hanging suspended up- 
side down below the other. It was so dif- 
ferent from Florence, from Rome, from 
anything they had ever seen before, that 
the children forgot even that they were 
hungry, and went up the streets wide-eyed 
with wonder, absorbed in all these marvels. 

“ Get on, get on ! ” said Carlotta crossly, 
behind them. “Your eyes will pop out of 
your heads, and drop in the street if you 
stare so. Carina is hungry, and so am I, 
and we must earn our dinner before we 
eat it.” 

Through one narrow street after another 
they made their way, until at last they 
reached an open square fronting on the 
water. 

“ Here is the market,” said Carlotta, de- 
positing the organ in the middle of the 
open space, and the children, sighing with 
relief, also dropped their bundles and gazed 
about them. Drawn up to the water’s edge 
90 


were many boats loaded with great baskets 
of fruit and vegetables. Merchants swarmed 
about these boats like flies, and the produce 
was immediately purchased and placed in 
stalls or booths around the edge of the 
square, where people with market-baskets 
on their arms were buying their provisions 
for the day. 

It was a busy and crowded place, but 
Carlotta gave the children little time to look. 
“Dance,” she commanded, as she began to 
grind out a tune upon the organ. Carina 
sprang to the top of the box, and began to 
hop up and down in time to the music as 
the children went through the wild contor- 
tions of the trescone. A crowd immediately 
gathered about them, and the coins began 
to rain into Carina’s tambourine. 

When the dance was finished, Carlotta 
led the way to a booth in the square, where 
hot macaroni was for sale, and here their 
hungry mouths were filled with the first 
warm food they had tasted for several days. 
They ate and were comforted. Then, leav- 
9 1 


in g the market-place, they passed through 
narrow streets and over little bridges span- 
ning the canals, until they reached another 
small open square in a crowded portion of 
the city. Carlotta walked faster and faster 
as they approached it, and the Twins had 
almost to run to keep up with her. 

As they entered the square, a small dirty 
boy about Beppo’s size suddenly gave a 
shout. “ It is Carina!” he cried, and, not 
noticing Carlotta or the Twins, he seized 
the monkey in his arms and kissed its little 
black face. Carlotta gave him a playful slap. 

“ Ecco ! ” she cried to the Twins. “ Here 
we have the brave Giovanni ! And he cares 
nothing for his godmother! He loves only 
the little black monkey ! See, Giovanni ! I 
have brought two playmates for you. They 
were lost, and I have protected them out 
of charity. They will live with us.” 

Giovanni stared at the Twins for a mo- 
ment, then he ran out his tongue at Beppo. 
“ I can lick you ! ” he cried. Beppo stiffened 
with fury. All the pent-up rage of the past 
9 2 


weeks rose up within him, and here was 
some one on whom he could legitimately 
wreak it! He dropped his bundles, rolled 
up his sleeves, and roared, “ Come on ! ” 

Giovanni threw the monkey at Carlotta 
and instantly came on ! A crowd of ragged 
boys and girls gathered about them, and 
the fight began. It did not last long, for 
Beppo had taken boxing-lessons along with 
his other studies, and he met Giovanni’s 
advance with a swift blow which sent him 
spinning to the ground. Then he sat upon 
him until he begged for mercy, while the 
crowd squealed with delight. Carlotta turned 
the organ and the monkey over to Beppina, 
picked Beppo off the prostrate Giovanni, 
and then, seizing the two boys by their 
collars, thumped their heads smartly to- 
gether. 

“ Ecco ! ” she said. “ Now you have had 
your fight, you can be friends.” Loading 
them both with bundles, she marched them 
across the square to the back door of a di- 
lapidated house, with the crowd surging 
93 



about them. Here she drew them into a 
narrow entrance and, leading them up two 
flights of dirty stairs, knocked at a door. It 
was opened by a slatternly woman, who 
gave a shrill cry of astonishment when she 
saw the group on her threshold. 

The monkey evidently knew her, for he 
leaped from Giovanni’s arms to her shoul- 
der and began to pull her hair. 

94 


“ Santa Maria ! Santa Maria ! ” screamed 
the woman. “ If it is not that devil of a 
Carina come back again ! Let go of my hair, 
you demon, or I ’ll wring your black neck ! ” 

Carlotta laughed, and picked the monkey 
off of Giovanni’s mother just as she had 
picked Beppo off of her son a few moments 
before. 

The children, left to themselves, stared 
about at their new quarters, while Giovanni 
stared at them. The room was large, bare, 
dilapidated, and dirty. On the floor were 
some old mattresses filled with corn-husks, 
which were evidently used as beds. There 
was a wooden table with some soiled dishes 
standing on it, and, beyond this and a few 
chairs, there was no furniture except two 
pots of geraniums on the window-sill. A 
door opened into a smaller room beyond, 
and through it they could see a stove, with 
a kettle standing on the floor beside it. 

Giovanni had evidently made up his mind 
that any one who could “lick” him must 
indeed be a hero, for, having finished his 
95 


critical survey of the Twins, he said affably, 
“ My father is a gondolier. What ’s yours ? ” 

“A Marchese,” said Beppo. 

“Holy Madonna!” gasped the boy. 
“Does n’t he do any work?” 

“No,” said Beppo. “He just goes to 
Rome to help the King.” 

Carlotta overheard them. “ Don’t you 
ever say that_ again, you wicked little liar! ” 
she cried fiercely. “ If you do, I ’ll cut off 
your tongue.” She turned again to the other 
woman. 

“ Do they look like the children of a 
Marchese? I ask you,” she said. “They 
were lost, and I have taken care of them 
out of charity ! They sing and dance to pay 
for their keep, but it’s little enough they 
bring in at best ! Old Ugolone is dead, and 
Luigi has stayed behind to dispose of the 
van and the donkeys. With the money he 
gets for them he ’ll buy a boat and pick up 
a living on the canals. We shall go no 
more on tours about the country. It does 
not pay. There are as many soldi to be 
96 


found in Venice as anywhere, and with 
the organ and Carina we shall get along, 
even with two extra mouths to feed ! ” 

Giovanni’s mother winked her eye and 
nodded a great many times. 

“Si, si,” she said. “There will be many 
tourists in Venice this summer, and it is 
not to believe the way Americans throw 
money about. Mario says their pockets are 
lined with gold ! ” 

Sick with terror, the children turned 
away from Carlotta and looked out of the 
windows. 

“See me,” said Giovanni. He wanted to 
do something to make himself admired after 
his recent humiliation, so he doubled him- 
self across the sill of the open window and 
leaned far out over the canal which flowed 
directly beneath. “ Look ! ” he cried, wav- 
ing his legs at the peril of taking a header 
into the water. 

His mother seized him. “ Madonna mia,” 
she screamed, “that boy would rather 
drown than not,” and, giving him a smart 
97 


spank, she jerked him back into the room 
by a leg. Giovanni rubbed the spot and 
grinned sheepishly, as his mother followed 
up the punishment by a flow of speech 
which sounded to the Twins much like the 
chattering of the monkey. “ Get along with 
you ! ” she said finally, giving him a shove. 

“ Come,” said Carlotta to the Twins when 
this little scene was over. “Soldi grow 
only in the street,” and, picking up the 
organ, she led the way down the stairs. 

The children were glad to follow, for they 
preferred the streets to such a dwelling, and 
Giovanni, thinking it advisable to remain 
out of his mothers sight for a while, followed 
them, carrying the monkey in his arms. 





VII 

THREE WEEKS DRIFT BY 


I 


4 





>> 

» • «> 


C 


•r 

« 

v 



VII 

THREE WEEKS DRIFT BY 


All the rest of that day, and for many days 
after, the children followed Carlotta through 
the maze of streets, dancing and singing in 
the piazzas and the market-place, or any- 
where else where crowds were gathered. 
Giovanni, having nothing else to do, went 
with them much of the time, and added his 
talents to the exhibition. He could turn 
“cart-wheels” until he looked like a real 
whirling wheel with only four spokes, and 
he could walk on his hands. He was glad 
to display these accomplishments, for he 
liked being away from home, he liked Ca- 
rina, and best of all he liked the Twins. The 
three became quite friendly, and Carlotta, 
seeing this, smiled her sly smile, and winked 
knowingly at Giovanni’s mother, as though 
to say: “You see, they are getting used to 


IOI 


their new way of living. Soon they will 
forget their old home, and I shall have no 
more trouble with them.” 

Little by little the children came to know 
Venice better than they had known Flor- 
ence, which is not saying much, since in 
Florence they had so completely lost them- 
selves. They could go from Giovanni’s 
house to the Rialto, the largest of the three 
bridges which span the Grand Canal, and 
find their way through the maze of streets 
to the beautiful Piazza of San Marco. They 
liked best to go there, not only because it 
is the most beautiful spot in Venice, not 
even because it is said to be the finest piazza 
in the world, but also because the flocks of 
pigeons flying about in clouds, and lighting 
upon their shoulders, made them think of 
their own little garden in Florence. 

Carlotta liked the piazza because it was 
the best place in Venice to gather in the 
soldi. There were always tourists in the 
square, walking about with guide-books in 
their hands, and reading passages about its 


102 



history aloud to one another. Indeed, there 
was no end to the wonderful things in that 
famous square. There was the Church of 
San Marco itself, with its beautiful mosaics 
and the four splendid bronze horses over 
the entrance. There was the magnificent 
Ducal Palace, packed full of thrilling stories 
of past splendor; and, back of it, spanning 
the canal, the “Bridge of Sighs,” which 
led from the palace to a dark prison on the 
other side. On the day she first saw that, 
Beppina shed tears, thinking of all the un- 
103 


happy prisoners who had passed over the 
bridge never to return. She knew how 
prisoners felt. 

Giovanni tried to comfort her. “ Don’t 
you fret about them,” he said. “They’re 
as dead as they can be, all of ’em, and in 
purgatory or a worse place, and you can’t 
get ’em out no matter how hard you pray. 
Come on; let’s go look at the clock.” 

Beppina knew that Carlotta would be 
angry if they lingered, but still she crossed 
herself and murmured a hurried “ Our 
Father” for the poor prisoners, on the 
chance of its helping them, before she ran 
back to Beppo and Giovanni. She found 
them standing before the great clock-tower 
which rose above a high gateway over the 
street. It was almost noon, and a crowd 
had gathered to see the clock strike the 
hour. There was always a group waiting 
there on the hour, for this was no ordinary 
clock. The children watched with breath- 
less interest as two bronze giants on the 
platform high above their heads suddenly 
104 


lifted their arms and struck a huge bell 
twelve times, then relapsed into bronze 
statues again. Giovanni told the Twins that 
at Christmas-time the Three Wise Men 
came out of the clock and bowed before the 
Madonna and Child. The Twins thought 
this could be nothing else than a miracle, but 
Giovanni, who was wise beyond his years, 
said it was just works in the clock’s insides. 

“ It ’s no more a miracle than a stomach- 
ache inside of you,” he explained. 

There was no time for further revelations 
on the day this happened, for at that mo- 
ment Carlotta called them. She was afraid 
the crowd would disperse before she had 
coaxed money from their pockets. Every 
moment that they were not dancing or sing- 
ing, the children wandered about this magic 
place, where in every direction they looked 
there were wonderful stories in bronze, mar- 
ble, or mosaic. One could stay there a year 
and not begin to know them all. If it rained, 
they took refuge under the arcade of the 
Ducal Palace or in the quiet interior of the 
i°5 


Church of San Marco itself. Sometimes 
they could even step in and pray before 
the altar. Their prayers were always the 
same, that the Holy Virgin and Saint An- 
thony, the special guide of those who were 
lost, would take care of them and bring 
them safely again to their Babbo and Mam- 
mina and their lovely home. 

Many days passed in this way, and it 
was the middle of May before the chil- 
dren ever rode in a boat, for though Gio- 
vanni’s father had a gondola, it was his busi- 
ness to take passengers about Venice just 
like a cab-driver in our own cities, and he 
did not use it for pleasure rides for Gio- 
vanni and his friends. 

Then one afternoon when they returned 
from singing in the piazza, they found Luigi 
waiting to show Carlotta the boat which he 
had bought with the money he received for 
the donkeys and the van. It was not a gon- 
dola, but a sandalo , a large row-boat, with 
a pair of oars, suited to carry either passen- 
gers or freight. 

iq6 



“The weather is warm now,” said Luigi 
to Carlotta; “the tourists are already lin- 
gering on the canals for pleasure in the 
evenings, and I believe we should do well 
to let the children go about with me in the 
' boat to sing.” 

Though they were weary from dancing 
and singing all day in the streets, it would 
be far pleasanter to drift about on the canal 
in the evening than to spend it tossing 
about on the husk mattresses in Giovanni’s 
squalid house, and the children listened 
with eager attention to Carlotta’s reply. 

107 


“As you like,” she said, shrugging her 
shoulders ; and that very evening the plan 
was carried out. Luigi rowed the boat slowly 
about on the Grand Canal, and the sweet 
voices of the children, floating out over the 
still waters, attracted the gondolas about 
them, and many soldi were flung to the 
singers. 

As the weather grew warmer, the eve- 
nings on the canal grew longer and longer. 
Sometimes the gondolas would join to- 
gether in long chains and float about in the 
moonlight with every one joining in the 
singing. On festival nights there were 
Chinese lanterns in every prow, and the 
boats, flitting about over the water, looked 
like giant fireflies at play. 

In this way three weeks drifted by, and 
at last it was June, and still the children 
had made no progress toward freedom. 


VIII 

BEPPO HAS A PLAN 











I 





VIII 

BEPPO HAS A PLAN 

One day, when they had just finished a 
performance in the piazza and were allowed 
to wander for a few moments by them- 
selves, Beppo drew Beppina to the water’s 
edge, and, looking up at the winged lion of 
Saint Mark’s, said to her, “ Do you remem- 
ber what Carlotta said about having to have 
a boat, a railroad ticket, or wings to get out 
of Venice?” 

Beppina remembered very well. 

“ The wings on that lion made me think 
of it,” said Beppo, “ and I ’ve thought of 
something else too. There ’s another thing 
you need, and that ’s brains ! I ’ve got those, 
and I ’m going to get out of this water- 
soaked old place or die in the attempt ! ” 

“ Oh, Beppo,” breathed Beppina, “how?” 

“ I ’ve got it all planned,” said Beppo. 


1 1 x 


“I guess Saint Anthony must have put 
it into your head,” sighed Beppina, “ for he 
takes care of all the lost people. Anyway, 
you haven’t thought of anything before.” 

“I thought of this my own self,” said 
Beppo, rather resentfully. 

“Well,” said Beppina, claspingher hands, 
“you think, and I ’ll pray. I ’m going to 
begin a novena. I ’ll pray hard to Saint 
Anthony every day for nine days, and ask 
him to please, please guide us! I’m going 
to begin right now.” She crossed herself 
and began moving her lips in prayer, but 
got no farther than “Blessed Saint An- 
thony,” when Beppo nudged her with his 
elbow. 

“Stop it!” he whispered, “here comes 
the old cat.” (He meant Carlotta.) “Don’t 
you let her catch you praying to Saint An- 
thony, or she ’ll know what we ’re up to. 
You can pray like fury, but say your pray- 
ers in your heart, and then some night if I 
wake you up, you just keep as still as a 
mouse and follow me.” 


112 


Carlotta reached them just then and 
ordered them to go with her back to the 
Cathedral to sing, and all that day there 
was no chance for Beppo to explain his 
great idea. Beppina caught him many times 
with his forehead all snarled up as if he were 
trying to think how much 9x7 was, or 
something hard like that, but just what he 
had in mind she could not guess. 

That night when they were out in the 
boat, Beppo asked Luigi if he might try to 
row it home, and Luigi, being willing to 
loaf whenever it was possible, said he might. 
Beppo did so well that night that on the next 
Luigi allowed him to row as well as sing, 
and very soon Beppo came to know his 
way about the Grand Canal better than he 
knew the multiplication-table — oh, much 
better ! 

At last one night, after they had gone to 
bed, Beppo lay still for a long time, until 
he was sure that every one else in the room 
was asleep. Then he quietly woke Beppina, 
and the two slid from their mattresses to 


the floor. Here they waited a moment, for 
the husks rattled a little, and then, as no 
one stirred, they moved stealthily to the 
door, carrying their shoes in their hands. 
They had slept in their clothes, for they 
still wore the ones Carlottahad given them, 
and had not seen their own since the day 
she had made them change in the van. 

They almost suffocated with fright as 
they opened the door, for it creaked and 
they feared the monkey would begin to 
chatter, but Carina was tired, too, and slept 
as soundly as the rest. In a moment they 
had quietly closed it behind them, and were 
feeling their way in the dark, down the 
stairs and through the passage at the bot- 
tom to the canal entrance of the house, 
where Mario and Luigi kept their oars. 
Beppo had noted carefully when they came 
in just where Luigi had placed his, and, 
feeling cautiously along the wall with his 
hands, was able to locate them in the dark. 
He gave his shoes to his sister, took down 
the oars, and managed to get them to the 
n 4 


door without knocking anything over or 
dropping them on the stone floor. 

Followed by Beppina, who was holding 
on to his coat and praying to Saint An- 
thony under her breath, he reached the 
water entrance to the house, and stood upon 
the landing. Luigi’s boat and Mario’s gon- 
dola were both tied to a red pole beside the 
entrance. Beppo put one oar down on the 
step, and with the other managed to reach the 
pointed prow of the boat, and draw it to the 
step. Then he leaped in, helped Beppina in 
with the shoes, took the other oar into the boat 
with him, and, untying the rope which fast- 
ened it to the pole, shot out into the stream. 

There was a scraping noise as the boat 
swung against the landing-step, and Beppo 
used the oar to push it away. There was 
also the rattling of the oar-locks, as he 
backed round and glided out into the canal, 
but though he was nearly dead with excite- 
ment and fright, Beppo kept his head. Never 
had he managed the boat so well. It slid 
through the water like a fish. They had 
ll 5 





gone two or three hundred feet and reached 
the point where the smaller waterway 
opened into the Grand Canal, when Bep- 
pina was appalled to see the dim outline of 
another boat a little distance behind them. 

“ They ’re following ! ” she gasped. “ Oh, 
Beppo, hurry!” 

u 6 


Beppo bent to his oars and the boat fairly 
shot through the water! On and on they 
sped, past the great palaces now dark and 
grim in starlight, past the market-place, 
round the great curve of the canal, and 
soon to their great relief the black boat was 
no longer following. 

“ Do you suppose it was Luigi ? ” gasped 
Beppina. 

“No,” said Beppo, “ he could n’t possibly 
have got after us so quickly, because I un- 
tied Mario’s gondola too. It would drift 
away far enough so Luigi would have to 
swim to get it, and he could n't do it in this 
time, I know. Maybe it was a police boat, 
or maybe it was some one going home late. 
Anyway, he was n’t after us, so I don’t care 
who he was.” 

“Oh, Beppo, tell me your plan. Where 
are we going?” begged Beppina. 

“Keep still,” growled Beppo; “the less 
noise we make the more chance there is of 
our getting away.” 

Beppina crumpled up in the bottom and 

1 17 


said no more, while Beppo made the boat 
skim on over the dark waters. At last he 
turned the prow toward shore and touched 
at a dock where many boats were already 
moored. There was no sign of life about 
the place, as they disembarked. There was 
only the soft lapping of the water to break 
the silence. 

“ Stoop down,” whispered Beppo. “ These 
are the boats that cross over to Mestre on 
the mainland before daylight to bring fruit 
and vegetables back to market, and it may 
be that some of the men sleep in the boats. 
We might wake them.” 

For a few moments they listened, crouch- 
ing down on the dock, and then, as they 
heard no sound, Beppo gave the sandalo a 
shove away from shore, and let go the rope. 

“ Oh,” whispered Beppina, “ why did you 
do that?” 

“We don’t want it any more,” answered 
Beppo, “and if they find it, they’ll think 
we fell out and were drowned. Then they 
won’t look for us.” 

1 18 


“Oh, Beppo,” said Beppina, “what a 
wonderful boy you are ! ” 

“ I ’ve been planning this a long time,” 
Beppo answered, with a little of his old 
swagger; “but we aren’t out of our trou- 
bles yet.” 

They crept along the dock on their hands 
and knees until they came to one of the 
largest flat-bottomed boats in the fleet. 
Here Beppo paused, and, after carefully 
examining to be sure it was the one he was 
looking for, he helped Beppina aboard, and 
climbed in after her. There was a pile of 
empty baskets and boxes at one end of the 
boat, and behind these the children hid 
themselves to wait for dawn. For a long 
time they crouched there, listening to the 
thumping of their own hearts, and the lap- 
lap-lapping of the water, and at last, com- 
pletely exhausted with fatigue and fright, 
curled up on the floor of the boat and fell 
sound asleep. 



4 


IX 

THE ESCAPE 



% > 


IX 

THE ESCAPE 


Beppo awoke next morning in the early 
dawn, and, forgetting where he was, 
stretched his cramped legs. In doing so he 
kicked over a basket, which fell on Beppina. 
Beppina instantly sat up, and, blinking with 
sleep, said quite loudly, “Where are we?” 

She might well ask, for there, directly in 
front of her, pulling stoutly at a pair of 
oars, sat a short, thick-set man with brown 
skin and rings in his ears. The level rays 
of the sun, just rising over Venice, shone 
full upon his weather-beaten face and aston- 
ished eyes, as he gazed at the apparition 
before him. Just then Beppo’s head ap- 
peared beside his sister’s, and the man, 
overcome with astonishment, “ caught a 
crab” and splashed both children with 
water before he burst into speech. 

123 


l 


“Madonna mia!” he cried, “am I be- 
witched? How in the name of all the saints 
in paradise did you get into this boat? You 
weren’t in it when I left the dock!” 

“Oh, yes, we were,” said Beppo. “We 
were behind the baskets.” 

“But what are you here for?” demanded 
the man. 

“We want to go to Mestre,” said Beppo. 

The man regarded them suspiciously. 
“Do your folks know where you are?” he 
asked. 

“ No,” said Beppo. “ That ’s why we are 
here. We want to get back to them.” 

Beppina interrupted. “We were stolen 
away by gypsies,” she said. 

Then, still staring at them, the man asked, 
“Where are you from?” 

“From Florence,” Beppo answered. 

The man threw back his head and 
laughed. “ That’s a likely story ! ” he roared. 
“From Florence! Ha, ha! Very good, per 
Bacco ! You are indeed clever liars! You 
are a pair of naughty little runaways, that ’s 

124 



what you are, and if I had time I ’d take 
you straight back to Venice now ! As it is, 
I ’ll wait until I get my load, and then back 
you go, and I hope you ’ll get a good spank- 
ing into the bargain.” 

The children said nothing. They could n’t ; 
they were crushed. But during the rest of 
the journey Beppo thought as he had never 
thought in his life before, while Beppina 
prayed fervently under her breath. During 
I2 5 


the weeks that they had been so closely 
watched by Carlotta, Beppina had grown 
almost to read Beppo’s thoughts, so when 
he furtively took her hand, lifted one eye- 
brow, and jerked his head in the direction 
of Mestre, she knew he meant to try to go 
forward no matter what happened. 

They were now nearly across the lagoon 
and approaching the harbor. Early as it 
was, the water was already swarming with 
craft of all descriptions, for Venice has to 
get all her supplies from the mainland, and 
many boats are required for the traffic. 
There was consequently a great deal of 
shouting back and forth as the men jock- 
eyed for the best positions at the dock. 
Their own brown boatman was so busy 
bawling at his competitors and shunting 
about that for a few moments he was unable 
to pay any attention to the children. At 
last, however, he crowded in between two 
other boats, and while he was explaining 
to their owners that they were the sons of 
pigs to take up so much room, Beppo seized 
126 


his sister by the arm, and the two leaped 
into the next boat, from that to a third, and 
then to the dock ; and before their captor 
realized they were gone, they were already 
speeding frantically up the dock. 

“ Stop them ! Stop them ! ” howled the 
boatman, climbing out and starting in pur- 
suit. 

Two or three other men joined him, 
shouting, “Stop! Stop! ” too, but their calls 
only lent speed to the flying feet of the run- 
aways. They did not know where they 
were going, but they ran as rabbits run 
when the dogs are after them, and soon 
found themselves in the streets of the town. 
The cries of their pursuers grew fainter, 
and were lost altogether as Beppo suddenly 
dashed into a side street and they doubled 
on their tracks. 

From a safe hiding-place behind an old 
building in an alley they caught a glimpse 
of their pursuers as they turned back to 
the boats, talking volubly and gesticulating 
like windmills. They were telling the boat- 
127 


man who had brought the children over 
what they thought of him for getting them 
into such a wild-goose chase. Beppo ac- 
tually chuckled as he watched them go, so 
great was his relief. 

“Now, Beppina,” he said, almost gayly, 
“we’ll hurry to the other end of the town 
as fast as we can go, and get something to 
eat. I ’ve got ten soldi in my pocket that I 
picked up when Luigi was n’t looking, and 
I ’m as hungry as a bear. They won’t fol- 
low us any more, but we ’ll keep out of sight 
until the shops are open, anyway.” 

For an hour or more they wandered 
quietly about, through the by-ways of the 
town, until they found a small bake-shop 
on an unfrequented street; and when an 
old woman appeared and took down the 
shutters, they went in and boldly asked for 
bread and cheese. The woman eyed them 
with some curiosity, but asked no questions, 
and they got out as quickly as possible and 
hid behind an empty house on the outskirts 
of the village to eat their breakfast. 

128 



“ I ’m sure of one thing,” said Beppo, as 
he munched his bread. “ I ’m not going to 
tell our story to any one after this. People 
would only think we were lying. We ’ll 
find our own way to the villa, and earn our 
money as we go along. Padua is only about 
thirty miles from here, anyway.” 

“Oh, Beppo,” said Beppina, much im- 
pressed, “how did you know that?” 

“Geography,” said Beppo proudly. “You 
remember how I knew about Ravenna and 
1 29 


Rimini, and, besides, the other day I asked 
a tourist to let me see the map in the guide- 
book. Padua is almost straight west from 
here. We can go away from the sun in the 
morning and toward it in the afternoon, 
and we can’t help running into it. We’ll 
dance in the villages as we go along, and 
when we get to Padua it will be easy enough 
to find the villa.” 

Beppina had some secret doubts. She 
remembered how sure Beppo was about 
finding his way in Florence, but she did n’t 
say a word. She was willing to take any 
risk if only they could keep out of the 
clutches of Carlotta. 

“ Do you suppose they are hunting for 
us in Venice?” she asked. 

“ I should n’t wonder,” answered her 
brother, glancing at the sun. Then he chuck- 
led, “ I ’ll bet they ’re mad ! I hope they ’ll 
never find their old boats ! ” 

“ Let ’s get away from here as fast as we 
can,” urged Beppina. “They might follow 
us, or they might send word to the police.” 

13° 


“ That ’s true,” said Beppo. “We can’t 
be too careful.” 

They had finished their breakfast by this 
time, and, taking their direction from the 
sun, set forth at once toward the west. 
Soon they were out among the suburbs. 
Then they passed stately villas owned by 
wealthy Venetians, and beyond that came 
into open country. It was much easier 
walking than it had been in the mountains, 
for the land was level, or gently rolling, the 
villages were near together, and the high- 
ways well traveled. Moreover, they had 
been hardened to much walking by their 
weeks of constant practice, and were able 
to trot along the road at a good rate of 
speed. 

At noon they reached a village, and here 
they decided to replenish their little hoard 
of money, so, making their way to the 
piazza, they surrounded themselves with a 
crowd for whom they danced the trescone 
and sang themselves hoarse. They were 
just gathering up the few coins that were 
hi 1 


thrown to them, when Beppo saw a police- 
man approaching, and, not wishing to take 
any chances, the two children instantly dis- 
appeared like smoke down a side street, 
and out into the highway once more. 

By supper-time they had covered ten 
miles, and when night overtook them, they 
were in open farming country, surrounded 
by olive orchards, vineyards, and cornfields. 
In a field beside the road they came upon 
a straw-stack, and, hiding themselves on 
the farther side of it, they ate the bread and 
ham which they had bought on the way, 
and then, pulling the straw down over them 
for covering, slept peacefully until morning. 


X 

HOME AGAIN 


1 





X 

HOME AGAIN 

The next day and the next passed in much 
the same way. They danced and sang in 
the villages to earn their bread, and then 
passed out again to the highway, where 
there were sign-posts to guide them, or 
they could ask directions from fellow trav- 
elers. One night they passed in an olive 
orchard, under a spreading tree. Another 
was spent under the protection of a wayside 
shrine. 

When he awoke in the morning, Beppo 
found his sister kneeling before the shrine. 
She turned a beaming face upon him as he 
opened his eyes. 

“Oh, Beppo mio,” she said, “I haven’t 
forgotten once, and this is the ninth day ! 
I’ve made my novena! I’m almost sure 
the blessed Saint Anthony means to get us 
i3S 


to Padua this very day. If he does, I think 
I shall die of joy.” 

/‘What would be the good of that?” 
Beppo inquired, practically. Then he added, 
“Anyway, I think it ’ll be very mean if he 
does n’t, after all the praying you ’ve done, 
and all my thinking too.” 

They ate a hasty bite of bread beside the 
shrine, then trudged on, and, before the 
morning was over, actually found them- 
selves passing through the beautiful gar- 
dens which surround the city of Padua. 
They entered it from the east by the Porta 
di’ Pontecorbo, walked a short distance 
along a wide street, crossed a canal, and, 
turning to the left, saw rising before them 
from a great open piazza the huge church 
of Saint Anthony of Padua, crowned by its 
six domes and many spires. It was as if 
they had known every inch of the way, so 
directly had they come. 

The bells of the church were pealing joy- 
fully, and the square was full of people, all 
going toward the church, for it was the 
1 3 6 


festa of Saint Anthony, though the children 
did not know it. 

Passers-by glanced curiously at the two 
queer, forlorn little figures, but no one 
spoke to them, and they stood for a mo- 
ment uncertain what to do, or in what di- 
rection to go, when suddenly Beppina gave 
a shriek of joy, and, springing forward, 
threw her arms about a tall, stern-looking 
woman in a nurse’s ruff and streamers who 
was hurrying toward the church carrying 
an immense loaf of bread in her hand. 

“Teresina!” screamed Beppina. 

The woman looked at the child in blank 
astonishment, but it was not until she saw 
Beppo that the light of recognition dawned 
in her face. Then, dropping the bread 
and falling upon, her knees, she engulfed 
both ragged, dirty children in a wide em- 
brace. 

“Oh, thanks be to God, the blessed Vir- 
gin, and Saint Anthony, you are found 
again ! ” she cried, her eyes streaming tears 
and her tongue prayers of thanksgiving at 
x 37 


the same time. “ I was just on my way to 
offer this bread at the shrine of the blessed 
Saint, and pray, as I have prayed daily 
since you were lost, that you might be 
found again ! And here before I have even 
been to the church at all, the blessed Saint 
has heard my prayers, and you rise up be- 
fore me as if out of the ground. It is a mir- 
acle! Ah, Madonna mia! what tears the 
Signora has wept for you ! And the Signore 
your father, he has not slept for seeking 
you! Come, come — do not delay! We 
must send word to the villa at once that 
they may come running to meet you even 
as his father met the prodigal son.” 

Her tongue ran so fast that the children 
had no chance to ask questions. A crowd 
now gathered about them* and when Tere- 
sina had explained the cause of the excite- 
ment and joy, sympathetic bystanders 
rushed to send word to the villa, seven 
miles away, and to spread the good news 
that the children of the Marchese Grifoni, 
for whom the police had been searching 
138 



every town in Italy for two months, had 
now appeared in Padua. 

“ It is not for nothing that Saint Anthony 
is the patron saint of all who suffer loss,” 
1 39 


said the pious ones, and many a candle was 
gratefully offered on his shrine that day. 

When her joy had a little subsided, Tere- 
sina gazed with horror at the Twins. They 
were indeed a terrifying spectacle. Ragged, 
thin, encrusted with dirt, with their toes 
sticking through their worn-out shoes, it is 
no wonder that she did not at once rec- 
ognize the children of the Marchese. Grasp- 
ing them by the hands as if she would 
never again let them go, Teresina hurried 
them toward the Hotel DueCroci Bianche, 
which opened upon the square, followed by 
crowds of interested spectators. The land- 
lord himself, when the news reached him, 
came out to greet the wanderers and con- 
duct them to a room. 

Teresina went with them, giving orders 
right and left as she flew down the long 
corridor. 

“It is for the Marchese Grifoni!” she 
cried to the bewildered servants, as she 
hustled the children before her to the bath. 
“ Bring soap, bring towels, bring food, and 
140 


for the love of Saint Anthony keep the 
wires hot to the villa. Never mind the cost, 
for the lost is found. They will reward you 
well. Tell them, for the love of Heaven, to 
bring clothes for the Signorina and Don 
Beppo, and hurry, hurry, hurry ! ” 

Then she shut the door upon her charges, 
and the process of purification began. She 
rang the bell furiously a few moments later, 
and, opening the door a crack, handed the 
servant who answered it a bundle, hastily 
wrapped in newspaper. 

“Their clothes,” she said briefly. “The 
Marchesa must not see them. Burn them 
at once ! ” 

For one hour or more she scrubbed and 
shampooed, and all but boiled the wander- 
ers alive in her frantic efforts to get them 
clean before their mother should be able to 
reach them. 

At last a carriage, drawn by a pair of 
steaming black horses, dashed up to the 
hotel, and the beautiful Marchesa, pale but 
radiant, sprang out and, attended by the 
H 1 


landlord himself, hurried to the room where 
her lost ones waited to embrace her ! Tere- 
sina opened the door, and, stepping into 
the hall, left the mother and children to- 
gether with no human eye to see that meet- 
ing ! Red-eyed herself, and wiping her nose 
vigorously on her apron, she went down 
to tell the footman all the news, and to get 
the bundle of clothes for the children, which 
in the haste and excitement had been left 
in the carriage. 

An hour later, the Marchesa and two 
very clean and happy children came out of 
the hotel, followed by Teresina. The coach- 
man, grinning, as Teresina said, “like a 
cracked melon,” greeted the children as if 
he were an old friend, and the Marchesa, 
standing in her carriage, scattered tips with 
a lavish hand. They drove away with the 
landlord bowing from the doorway, and the 
crowd shouting vivas as long as the carriage 
was in sight. 

It was a long drive over beautiful, wind- 
ing roadways to the villa, and every inch 
142 


of the way the Marchesa sat with her arms 
clasped about her darlings telling them of 
their father, who was still in Florence con- 
ducting the search, of the baby,- who had 
six teeth and was fat as butter, and hear- 
ing from them the tale of their adventures, 
while Teresina beamed at them from the 
opposite seat. 

At last they rounded a well-remembered 
curve in the road, and there, shining down 
on them from the summit of a hill over- 
looking the village, was their own white, 
vine-covered villa. The children shouted 
with joy when they saw it, and Beppina 
threw a kiss. 

Then they heard a great shouting down 
the road. All the village had come out to 
greet the children of their beloved Marchesa. 
Old and young, they swarmed about the 
carriage, shouting “Ben trovati,” which 
means “ Welcome,” and tossing flowers at 
the feet of the returned travelers. Ah, what 
a happy time it was! 

At last the carriage stood before the log- 
H3 


gia of the villa, and when his old dog, bark- 
ing with joy, came bounding out to meet 
them, Beppo, who had been dry-eyed and 
brave through all the dreadful weeks, buried 
his head in Tonio’s shaggy fur and gave 
way to tears. 

After the baby had been kissed, and the 
servants greeted, and all the dear, familiar 
places visited once more, it was time for 
supper, and, oh, what a supper it was ! The 
cook, the moment the wonderful news had 
reached the villa, had flown to the kitchen, 
and there she had cooked all their favorite 
dishes. There were artichokes for Beppina, 
and stufato for Beppo, and a cake as soft 
and light as thistle-down for dessert. In 
the evening they received a telegram of 
welcome from their dear Babbo in Flor- 
ence, for the good news had been flashed 
across the wires to him and all the servants 
in the Grifoni palace were rejoicing too. 

When bedtime came, instead of lying 
down upon straw, or a husk mattress, the 
Twins had their own mother to tuck them 


H4 


in their own white beds in their own dear, 
clean rooms, and then to sing them to sleep 
as she had done when they were little, lit- 
tle children. 

Long after they were safe in dreamland, 
the Marchesa lingered beside their beds, 
and then, throwing herself upon her knees 
before the image of the Madonna in her 
own room, she poured out her grateful 
heart in thanksgiving to that other Mother 
who had lived and suffered too. 




) 


GLOSSARY 


Antonia (dn-td'nee-a) , Antoinette, feminine of Anthony. 
Avanti (■ d-vdn'tee ), forward. 

Babbo ( bab'bo ), papa, daddy. 

Balia ( bdl'la ), dance. 

Bel, beautiful (masc.). 

Bella, beautiful (fem.). 

Ben trovati ( ben trd-vd'tee), well found, welcome. 

Beppina ( bep-pee'na ), Josie, the feminine diminutive nick- 
name for Giuseppe, Joseph. 

Beppinella, little Beppina. 

Beppo, Joe, nickname for Giuseppe, Joseph. 

Boboli ( tfo' bo-lee ) . 

Buona Pasqua ( bwo'na pas'kwa ), happy Easter. 

Campanile (cam- pa-nee' Id) , bell-tower. 

Canal della Giudecca ( joo-dek'ka ), a wide canal separat- 
ing the island called the Giudecca from the main part of 
Venice. 

Carissimi ( cd-rees' see-mee ), dearest. 

Carlotta, Charlotte. 

Che, che (kay, kay), tut, tut. 

Cocca ( kok'ka ), darling. 

Colombina (co-lom-bee'na) , a little pigeon, the mechani- 
cal dove used in the celebration of Easter. 

Don and Donna, Lord and Lady, titles of courtesy pre- 
fixed to Christian names. 

Duomo (d wo' mo), dome, cathedral. 

H7 


Ecco, behold, see. 


Festa, a feast, a festival. 

Garibaldi ( gd-ree-baV dee ). This turtle was named for the 
hero of the Italian war of independence. 

Giovanni ( jo-van'nee ), John. 

II (eel), the (masc). 

La (Id), the (fern.). 

Loggia (lodg'ee-a), an open gallery. 

Luigi (loo-ee'jee), Lewis. 

Madonna, my lady, the Holy Virgin. 

Mammina (mam-mee'na) , little mamma. 

Marchesa (mar-ka'zd) , marchioness. 

Marchese (mar-ka'zd), marquis. 

Maria (ma-ree'a), Mary. 

Mario (md'ree-o). 

Mestre (mes'tra). 

Mia (mee'a), my (fern.). 

Mio (mee'o), my (masc.). 

Misericordia (mee-ze-ree-cor'dee-a), mercy, a religious 
brotherhood. 

Novena (nd-vd'na), a nine-days prayer. 

Padre Ugo (pa'dra oo'go), Father Hugh. 

Pantalone (pan-ta-lo'na) , Pantaloon, a conventional char- 
acter in Italian comedy, an old man. 

Pazienza (pad-zee-end'za), patience. 

Per Bacco ( pair bdk'ko), by Bacchus (a mild oath). 
Piazza (pee-at'sa), a square. 

Pietro ( pee-d'tro ), Peter. 


148 


Polenta, a porridge made of coarse Indian meal. 

Ponte Vecchio ( pon'ta vek'kee-o ), old bridge. 

Porta di Pontecorbo ( por'ta dee pon-ta-cor'bo), Ponte- 
corbo’s Gate, a gateway to the old city of Padua. 
Poverelli (po-ve-rel'lee), poor people. 

Ragazzini (rd- gat- see' nee) , children. 

San Giovanni (san jo-van' nee), Saint John. 

San Marco ( sdn mar'co), Saint Mark. 

Santa Maria ( sdn'ta md-ree'a), Holy Mary. 

Si (see), yes. 

Signora (seen-yd'rd), lady, madam, Mrs. 

Signore (seen-yd'rd), gentleman, sir, Mr. 

Signorina (seen-yo-ree'na), young lady, Miss. 

Soldi (sol' dee), pennies; a soldo is normally of about the 
value of an American cent. 

Stufato (stoo-fa' to) , a highly seasoned dish of stewed meat, 
much liked by Italian children. 

Teresina (te-r e-zee' no), diminutive of Teresa, Theresa. 

Ugolone (oo- go-lo' na). 

Vita (vee'ta), life. 

Viva (vee'va), long life to you, hurrah. 


(Cfoe fitoetjtfi&e pie## 

CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 


U 


S . A 















■» 




